How Often Should You Work Out Each Week (Plus Tips for Staying Motivated)

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Working out has a lot of benefits for physical and mental health. It will improve your joints and cardiovascular system and help you burn fat, among other benefits. Exercise has also been shown to reduce stress and boost self-esteem. 

Despite knowing the benefits of exercise, many people are still unable to stay motivated. An important question needs to be answered if you want to stay consistent with workouts: ‘how often should you work out weekly?’ The answer may surprise you. 

Workout Frequency

The debate on how much you should workout per week is a debate that has raged in the fitness community for years. Everyone thinks they are correct, but increasing scientific research into the question provides valuable insight. The true answer is that your workout frequency depends on your workout goals. 

A great workout program should include cardiovascular and resistance training. Ideally, you can achieve good cardiovascular fitness with 30 minutes of intense exercise three times a week. A minimum of three times a week is necessary for strength training, but you can ideally train five times a week. 

The key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to start small, and even once a week will be enough if you have been largely inactive. Increase the days to where you are achieving your goals but still leave enough time for recovery.

Tips For Staying Motivated

The following are tips to help you stay motivated with your workouts.

Find a Supportive Online Community to Get Encouragement With Your Workout Goals

Finding a community of like-minded individuals is a great way to be consistent with workouts. If you cannot find a community in-person, you should try getting an online community like Physeek online fitness community. 

They will offer you the encouragement you need to achieve your fitness goals. You will find fitter people who will inspire you through the words but mainly by example to stick with it. Humans are social beings, and an inspiring community uplifts everybody, especially in fitness.

Set Goals

One of the best tips to help you stick to your fitness regimen is to set goals as they give you something towards and will get you going even when things get tough. Ask yourself how many calories should I eat a day and make that part of your daily goals. Goal setting is vital to achieving anything, and you should learn to set realistic and achievable goals if you want to maintain your fitness. 

Start with short-term goals beginning with what you would like to do daily, weekly, and monthly. You can then write longer-term goals that cover six months, a year, or longer once you consistently achieve your short-term goals. 

Flexibility

A reason why so many people fail to achieve their fitness goals is that they are too rigid. For example, if they cannot work out in the morning, they do not work out. If they cannot do the exercises they want, they slack off in the gym. 

If you want to be fit, you have to be flexible. It is especially so for people with busy schedules, like working moms. Life has many obstacles, and your ability to adapt to change will be a great asset in helping you achieve your fitness goals. 

Make It Fun 

If fitness is a chore to you, you will not stick with it. Fitness should be fun and something you enjoy if you want to do it long-term. Find physical activities that are enjoyable but still challenging, such as playing sports. 

If you find your workouts boring, change things up and introduce new variations. The most important factor is your attitude which you should adjust proactively to see exercise as fun. 

There isn’t an ideal number of times you should work out per week as it depends on you and your intentions. If you want to remain motivated to stay active, you should be flexible, set goals, find a supportive community, and make it fun. You will achieve your fitness goals and go beyond your expectations if you do.

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